> Here's a thought.
>
> If you've got classic computers you'd love to run but can't think of anything
> to DO with them, (and they speak unix) go to http://setiathome.ssi.berkeley.edu
> and make your computer's idle cycles part of the SETI search for
> extraterrestrial life. They download you a chunk of data from the Arecebo
> radio telescope and your computer spends its idle time running analysis on
> that chunk, then sends the results back.
>
> They keep track of what platforms people are using too. Wouldn't it be
> cool if the machine that finally found a real ET signal turned out to be
> a Vax 11/780 sitting in some collector's garage? They also have it as a
> screensaver for mac and windows, too. For reference, a "work unit" - about
> 300k of data all told - will take about 20 hours to process on my PII/300
> machine assuming I let it run continuously.
The down side is that the Seti_at_Home clients seem to have some pretty
stiff computer requirements. The Windows version (presumably Win32) requires
32mb memory and an 800x600 display, the Mac version requires a PowerPC, and
the Unix version only seems to be ported to Alpha, x86 and Sparc. In
comparison, the Distributed.Net clients have been ported to more "vintage"
hardware/OS combos.
Pity... I philosophically would rather find ETs than enccryption keys.
<<<John>>>
Received on Fri May 21 1999 - 20:12:09 BST